Body horror is having a moment thanks to The Substance, a movie thats not dissimilar to Sasha Rainbows new Shudder release Grafted. But the New Zealand-set tale also draws on elements that go back to genre king David Cronenbergs foundational works, including The Flyand wraps them in a story that peppers in Mean Girls and even a little Barbie, examining a worst-case scenario in girl world. Grafted begins with a flashback that establishes the unusually strong bond between a girl named Wei and her scientist fatheror make that mad scientist father, since his single-minded pursuit of a cure for the unsightly facial birthmark that both he and his daughter have has pushed him into making some highly questionable choices. In that first scene, he meets a tragic and repulsive end before her frightened young eyes, and though you might think thatd teach her a lesson about being responsible in the lab, it most certainly does not. A few years in the future, Wei (now played by Joyena Sun) leaves China, where she overhears a relative saying shes earned a reputation for being a monster, for Auckland, where a full-ride college scholarship and a free place to live at her aunts house await. A fresh start sounds like just the ticket for the brilliant but socially awkward studentshes agonizingly self-conscious about her appearancebut she immediately has a hard time fitting in, especially since her cousin Angela (3 Body Problems Jess Hong) is constantly rolling her eyes at how lame she is. One of Angelas biggest cruelties is disrespecting the altar Wei uses to pay tribute to her beloved father, a part of their shared Chinese heritage that Angela couldnt be less interested in embracing. Matt Grace/Shudder Before long, the girls sleazy science professor (Jared Turner) zeroes in on Wei, imagining that her fathers old research notebookwhich she clings to like a sacred textcontains the kind of big discovery thatll restore his fading academic reputation. While there is indeed a breakthrough in its pages, as Grafted soon reveals, its nothing thats going to make the world a better place, much less a more beautiful place as Wei fervently hopes. Grafteds first big plot twist presents itself fairly early in the film; we wont spoil any specifics, but its so startling and happens so quickly it might make you wonder where the story can possibly go from there. Things can and do get exponentially worse for Wei, but she also enjoys a few precious moments of surreal joy, testing out new identities for herself when shes briefly freed from the self-perceived ugliness thats entrapped her entire life.While a lot of Grafted is there to make you recoil at its dripping, oozing bad medicine, it also spends time digging into the intricacies of relationships between friends and frenemies, particularly among young women. Sun and Hongas well as Eden Hart as Eve, Angelas Margot Robbie lookalike bestiemake the social tensions feel just as high-stakes as the increasingly gruesome secret Wei is having a harder and harder time hiding. That the young women drift through life mostly unsupervised (Angelas mother is perpetually gone on work trips; her estranged dad is just a voice on the phone) escalates the spiral of chaos that begins to encircle them. Matt Grace/Shudder Thats further enhanced by Grafteds production design, which blends gory crimes in the dark with the neon pink hues of Wei and Angelas housewhere the mood of unease is echoed in the unfinished renovations that clutter its exterior. The film also makes some creative stylistic choices, conveying the anxiety of receiving a bad-news email or text with a quick jigsaw puzzle of editsand hits on the perfect ambient anxiety trigger by giving Angela a small dog that yaps non-stop. It also crescendoes to a finale thats as surprising as it is well-earned, as well as gross as hell.Directed and co-written by New Zealand filmmaker Sasha Rainbow, Grafted begins streaming on Shudder Friday, January 24. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, whats next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.